By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — The Naples gymnasium has a future.

Finally. Following years of having a leaky roof that had been continuously covered with a tarp, a solution is on the horizon.

In fact, the building reconstruction could begin as early as this fall, according to town officials.

Since late winter, the town gym has been closed to both the public and staff after it was deemed a safety hazard by the Naples Board of Selectmen. Prior to that, engineering studies had shown the roof no longer could hold as much snow or rain weight. But, when the tarp was removed, it revealed that the roof had dropped between one to four inches in places.

Since then, options to demolish the gym and build new or to shore up the structure have come forward.

Now, a solution is coming to fruition. That’s because during a Special Town Meeting on Aug. 23, Naples residents approved spending $650,000 to transform the gym into much needed offices and extra meeting space. The earmarked re-construction money will come from the existing TIF fund. Therefore, the cost will not directly impact this year’s property tax.

“The project will start this fall pending the completion of the contract and availability of the contractor,” Giroux said.

Everything has been progressing along ever since residents approved using money for this purpose, he said.

The very next selectmen’s meeting after the special town meeting, the board used the roof’s public safety status to declare it an emergency. The board hired Great Falls Construction, Inc., of Gorham.

On Aug. 28, the board “declared an emergency and the intention is to work with Great Falls” Giroux said. “Great Falls is doing a design-build project for us.” 

In addition to the $650,000 that was okayed at special town meeting, there is another “$47,000 slated for demolition that could be used for demolition work related to the project,” he said.